Pyongyang Rejects US Demands over 'Issues of Concern'

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, October 08, 2002

Pyongyang Rejects US Demands over 'Issues of Concern'

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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday rejected demands over what is termed "issues of concern" brought up by United States special envoy James Kelly during his just completed three-day visit to Pyongyang.

"The US-raised 'issues of concern' are nothing but a product of its hostile policy towards the DPRK," a DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesman said in an interview with the Korean Central News Agency.

James Kelly, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, visited the DPRK from October 3 to 5 as a specialenvoy of US President George W. Bush.

At a news briefing in Seoul on Saturday following his trip to the DPRK, Kelly claimed the dialogue in Pyongyang was "frank and useful," and he had brought up "issues of concern" during the visit, including "missile production and sales, nuclear program, conventional armed forces, and human rights record."

The US side set a precondition for settling DPRK-Japan, inter-Korean and DPRK-US relations. The precondition was that the DPRK first met the US unilateral demand over the "issues of concern," the spokesman said.

This clearly testified that "the Bush administration is pursuing not a policy of dialogue, but a hard-line policy of hostility to bring the DPRK to its knees by force and high-handed practice," the spokesman added.

The DPRK will take all necessary countermeasures and stick to the army-based policy, he warned.

During his stay in Pyongyang, Kelly exchanged views with DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan and First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok Ju, and also with Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly.

Since Bush came to power in January 2001, Washington has adopted a much harsher policy towards the DPRK, designating it as an "axis of evil" and "sponsor of terrorism."

Kelly is the most senior US official to visit Pyongyang since the visit by the former secretary of state, Madeline Albright, in Oct. 2000, when she was warmly received by the DPRK side. However,Washington and Pyongyang have had no substantial dialogue in the past two years.

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